Braking if rotor warp

[Yuan]

Just curious... If our stock rotors warp, will our cars be able to brake in time? I am looking at street driving with a speed range of 60 to 100 Km/h.

 

Thanks!

Edited November 10, 2007 by Blacklancer224

[Dafansu]

if wrap better to change it fast. safety issue

[Route88]

Warp rotor will cause vibration when hard braking,metal properties of the rotor material has changed.

A hot metal when dip with water will change its properties

[Watwheels]

I dun think the correct term should be called rotor warp lah. If really warp ah I dun think u can even drive properly. It is the surface of the rotor which is "warp".

 

It's the contact surface between the pad and the rotor. Under heat and constant hard braking the rotor surface wears unevenly thus the pads cannot have an even surface contact to have an efficient braking power.

 

To put it simple means it will not give u the 100% braking power cos of uneven surface contacts between the pads and rotors.

[Yuan]

Yah....Thanks for putting it the right way.

 

How u know rotor surface warp?

[Yuan]

Vibration? Hmmm...Will the car still be able to stop in the end?

[Vega]

you will have a strong vibration on your steering wheel when u step on your brake at 60km/h and above. better to skim the rotor before u need that extra braking power. can be very scary!!

[Yuan]

Sounds like you have experienced before?

[Cordia_gsr]

You should be able to stop in time, at least for me . But don't take that for granted. If it needs fixing, it got to be fixed. Tell tale signs will be vibrations on the steering from high speed braking and these vibration are gone once you release the foot brake. Another sign will be when you do very light braking while slow rolling, you can feel the braking effect going in pulsation.

Edited November 10, 2007 by Cordia_gsr

[Yuan]

Some people say that aftermarket brake pads cause stock rotors to warp. But can stock brake pads cause rotors to warp too?

[Vega]

yap. experience that before. just get the roto skim will do. safety first. dont play play. initially i thot it was ABS play trick on me but after a test drive with my mechanic on the highway, confirm roto warp. workshop people will know what to lookout for with warp roto.

[Yuan]

You were then using stock brake pads or aftermarket brake pads?

[Vega]

i change my entire braking sys and the roto wrap within 6 mths. maybe i did not do a proper break in.

[Vesfreq]

Ageing also cause warping. Best is to change the warped rotors, once they occur.

 

For my car, the warped rotors gave out knocking sounds. Quite obvious. Skimming didn't help, cos' the sounds came back again..... Best is to just change, if u are keeping ur ride. But, if u r dumping ur ride, just skim. Skim = short term solution.

[Icekitten]

My sis-in-law's new CS3 came with warped rotors.

 

My hubby collected the car for her and noticed a vibration while braking, kind of like pulsations that someone described. He did tell the SE about it and was told to try it out first and rectify the problem during the 1k servicing if it still exists. Had the rotors changed at the 1k servicing.

 

Luckily my hubby collected the car for his sis, and I drove it for the first few days after collection as she was still driving her company van. Both he and I noticed the vibration when we each drove her car. But she didn't feel anything. If she'd done the collection and driven it immediately, she wouldn't even have known any problem existed and would have continued happily driving with warped rotors.

 

I didn't feel that braking was affected in any way. Car was running in so it was normal street driving. Just the vibrations which could be felt. Dunno how to describe, but can feel that the vibrations are coming from the brakes in front.

[Yuan]

Hi sister, thanks for your reply and sharing.

 

Really learned a lot from your sharing here and SLC. Saw your ride sometime ago at D-Mix...

 

Yes...My bodykit was from there.

 

I am at crossroads with switching to aftermarket brake pads being aware that there is a risk of rotors warped with using aftermarket brake pads.

 

I have no problems with stock brake pads. They are okay with me.

 

That is why I am asking whether cars can still stop if one day the rotors warped after switching to aftermarket brake pads.

[Icekitten]

I'm using aftermarket brake pads with stock rotors.

 

So far so good. Better braking and bite but not sure if it's just the psychological effect from the new pads. Mine is Ferodo.

 

My hubby's driving always very F&F, so two sets of stock brake pads were ruined in less than 1.5 yrs.

 

Encountered screeching sounds while braking. Was told by mechanic that it's due to too much hard braking which 'spoilt' the pads coz stock pads are not meant for frequent hard braking.

 

Any particular reason you're thinking of switching to aftermarket brake pads?

Otherwise if for normal street driving like what you describe, stock pads should be quite sufficient.

 

Or maybe it's not the aftermarket pads which cause the warping of rotors but failure to bed in the brake pads properly which causes it? Which means even if you change to a new set of stock pads but don't bed in properly, rotor surface will also warp in the long run.

Most ppl who just drive normally might not even get a chance to change brake pads before they change car, hence the hearsay that aftermarket pads cause rotor warping.

[Yuan]

Hi sis, thanks for your sharing.

 

Well, I was given the impression that aftermarket brake pads give better braking bite and shorter braking distance. That is why I am considering them over stock brake pads though I have no complaints about stock brake pads.

 

My style of driving also consist of a lot of frequent hard braking while driving. Changed my stock brake pads at 21k mileague. Now on my second set of stock ones. So that is why I am considering aftermarket ones.

 

I heard that aftermarket ones finish faster than stock ones...Haha!